Combination chair back and child&#39;s high chair



Oct. 25, 1966 J. c. MANGLQS 3,281,183

COMBINATION CHAIR BACK AND CHILD'S HIGH CHAIR Filed June so, 1965 2Sheet-Sheet 1 Fig./ 6 Fig-5 John Mung/0s INVENTOR.

Oct. 25, 1966 J. c. MANGLOS 3,281,183

COMBINATION CHAIR BACK AND CHILD'S HIGH CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJune 30, 1965 Fig.4

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,281,183 COMBINATION CHAIR BACK AND CHILDS HIGHCHAIR John C. Manglos, 1018 S. Park, Independence, Mo. Filed June 30,1965, Ser. No. 468,290 4 Claims. (Cl. 297238) This invention relates toa novel and useful combination chair back and a childs high chair andmore specifically to an apparatus which is designed to adapt aconventional straight back chair to selectively function as aconventional chair and as a childs high chair.

While there are numerous types of childre-ns high chairs commerciallyavailable and some of these high chairs are constructed in a mannerwhereby they may be readily folded so as to be compactly stored andtransported from one location to another, these complete high chairsbeing necessarily quite expensive tomanufacture, especially if they areof the folding type, and usually constructed in a manner whereby theysupport children at a predetermined height in a non-adjustable fashion.

Parents of small children still using high chairs and also childrenwhich have only recently graduated from using a high chair willoccasionally desire the use of a high chair which will seat the childsupported thereby at an elevation somewhat lower than the elevation atwhich a child is supported by a conventional high chair. Still further,While the types of conventional high chairs which are foldable may betransported from one location to another with less eifort than a highchair which cannot be folded, even the fold'able type of high chairrequires considerable storage space and is oftentimes cumbersome tohandle.

Accordingly, it is the main object of this invention to provide a highchair attachment for use in connection with a conventional chair of thetype including a straight back, such a chair being of the type providedwith a dinette set or a card table set including a table and fourchairs.

Another object of this invention is to provide a high chair attachmentfor a straight back chair which may be readily removably engaged andsupported from the straight back portion of such a card table or dinetteset chair.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a high chairattachment for use in connection with the aforementioned type ofstraight back chair and which may be semi-permanently secured thereto ina manner such that the chair may alternately be used as a high chair fora small child and as a conventional chair by an adult without removingthe attachment from the chair.

Another object of this invention is to provide a high chair attachmentin accordance with the preceding objects which may be readily removedfrom an associated straight back chair and stored or transported in anextremely compact state.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumenated herein isto provide a high chair attachment in accordance with the precedingobjects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be ofsimple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that willbe economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble-free inoperation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the detail of construction and operationas more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numeralsrefer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the high chair attachment of theinstant invention shown in an opera- "ice tive position to form a highchair for a small child and supported from the back of a conventionalstraight back chair;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 22 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 33 of FIG 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 3 butshowing the high chair attachment in a collapsed position mounted on thestraight back chair in order that the chair may be utilized to supportan adult;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 5-5 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the high "chair attachmentof the instant invention.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10generally designates the high chair attachment of the instant invention.The attachment 10 is i1- lustrated in FIGURES 1-5 of the drawings asbeing secured to a conventional dinette set type of straight back chairincluding a seat 12 and a straight upright back assembly generallyreferred to by the reference numeral 14. The back assembly 14 is definedby a pair of rearwardly and upwardly inclined support arms 16 and 18.The support arms .16 and 18 are usually interconnected by means of abackbracing member (not shown) but which has been removed from the chair inorder that including a pair of opposite side walls 22 and 24interconnected by means of an arcuate back wall 26. The side Walls 22and 24 include rearwardly and upwardly inclined inwardly projectingflange portions 28 and 30 which, together with the back wall 26 define arear hollow portion 32.

. URES 1 and 2 of the drawings.

A bottom wall 34 is secured between the lower ends of the side walls 22and 24 and the lower end of the back wall 26 and has certain portionsthereof cut away in order to provide downwardly opening portions of therear portion 32 adapting the housing 20 to be telescoped downwardly overthe upper ends of the support arms 16 and 18, the housing 20 beingfirmly supported from the back assembly 14 in this manner.

The upper end of the housing 20 includes a top wall 36 whichinterconnects the upper ends of the side walls 22 and 24 and the backwall 26. The front of the housing 20 is open as best seen in FIGURE 1 ofthe drawings and a high chair seat and regular chair back-forming panelmember 40 is pivotally secured along one edge portion to the bottom wall34 by means of a piano hinge 42. In this manner, the member 40 ispivotable from the raised retracted position illustrated in FIGURE 5 ofthe drawings to a substantially horizontally disposed extended and highchair seat forming position illustrated in FIG- In addition, it will benoted that the member 40, when in its retracted position, includes anarcuate front surface 44 adapted to conform to the contour of the backof a person seated in the chair. Still further, the member 40, when inthe raised position, forms a closure for the front end of the housing20.

'A chair back-forming panel 46 is pivotally secured at one edge portionto the member 40 by means of a piano hinge assembly 48 a spaced distancefrom the hinge as sembly 42. The high chair back-forming panel 46 is'pivotable between a position substantially paralleling the member 40and a position disposed substantially normal to the member 40.

A pair of flexible tension members 50 have one pair of correspondingends secured through suitable bores 52 in the flanges 28 and 30 as at 54and their other ends secured through the free marginal edge portion ofthe member 40 as at 56. Intermediate portions of the flexible members 50are secured through suitable bores 58 formed in the high chairback-forming panel 46 adjacent its free-swinging edge portion and theflexible members 50 may be knotted as at 60 so as to limit swingingmovement of the free edge portion of the panel 46 away from the freeedge portion of the member 40. In addition, the .fiexible member 50limit downward swinging movement of the free edge portion of the member40 toward the horizontally disposed high chair seat forming positionillustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

The arcuate or concave front face 44 of the member 40 includes a pair ofelongated recesses 64 in whichelongated leg members 66 are pivotallysecured by means of suitable hinge assemblies 68. The leg members 66 arefully retractable within the recesses 64 and are pivoted to the extendedpositions illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings when it isdesired to utilize the attachment as a high chair seat.

In operation, the back bracing member (not shown) normally securedbetween the support arms 16 and 18 is first removed. Then, theattachment 10 is telescoped downwardly over the upper ends of thesupport arms 16 and 18 with the latter received within the rear portion32 of the housing 20. If the member 40 is in the upstanding closedposition illustrated in FIGURE of the drawings, its forward or frontsurface 44 will provide a suitable backrest for an adult seated in thechair. However, when it is desired to use the chair as a high chair, themember 40 is pivoted to the position illustrated in FIGURE 1 of thedrawings which will automatically cause the panel 46 to be alsopositioned as illustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. Then, the legmembers 66 may be swung to their depending positions and engaged withthe upper surface of the seat 12 to assist in supporting the weight of achild seated in the attachment 10.

It will of course be understood that the height of the high chairseat-forming member 40 when the latter is in its open position isdetermined by the height of the back of the associated chair.Accordingly, the attachment is readily adaptable to the height of anytable if suitable chairs for that table are provided with conventionalheight backs.

As hereinbefore set forth, if it is desired that the attachment 10 is tobe utilized in conjunction with a straight back chair without removingthe aforementioned backbracing member, the rear portion 32 of thehousing 20 may be made larger during the construction of the attachment10 in order that the rear portion 32 will also accept such aback-bracing member secured between the support arms 16 and 18.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only if the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed. I

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a conventional chair of the type including a seatand an upright back, a high chair attachment comprising a high chairseat and regular chair back-forming member, means pivotally securing oneedge portion of said member to said back for rotation about a generallyhorizontal axis extending along said edge portion and across said seat aspaced distance above the latter, a high chair back-forming panelpivotally secured along one edge portion thereof to said member forrotation about an axis generally paralleling and spaced laterally fromthe first-mentioned axis toward the free edge of said member and withsaid back panel disposed above said member when the latter is generallyhorizontally disposed, means operatively connected between said paneland said member limiting pivotal movement of the free edges thereof awayfrom each other to relative positions with said panel and memberdisposed generally normal to each other, and means connected to saidmember and engageable with said conventional chair to limit the swingingmovement of the free end of said member away from the upper portion ofsaid back to a position with said member substantially horizontallydisposed and spaced above said seat, said means pivotally securing saidone edge portion of said member to said upright back comprising amounting member secured to said upright back and to which said one edgeportion of said member is pivotally secured, said mounting memberdefining a shallow housing open at its forward end, said chairbackforming member, with said panel thereon, being swingable from saidhorizontal position to an upright position forming a closure for theforward end of said housing and with said panel disposed in saidhousing, said housing also including a rear portion which opensdownwardly, said housing being removably telescoped downwardly over theupper end of said upright back with the latter disposed in said rearportion.

2. In combination with a conventional chair of the type including a seatand an upright back, a high chair attachment comprising a high chairseat and regular chair backforming member, means pivotally securing oneedge portion of said member to said back for rotation about a generallyhorizontal axis extending along said edge portion and across said seat aspaced distance above the latter, a high chair back-forming panelpivotally secured along one edge portion thereof to said member forrotation about an axis generally paralleling and spaced laterally fromthe first-mentioned axis toward the free edge of said member and withsaid back panel disposed above said member when the latter is generallyhorizontally disposed, means operatively connected between said' paneland said member limiting pivotal movement of the free edges thereof awayfrom each other to relative positions with said panel and memberdisposed generally normal to each other, and means connected to saidmember and engageable with said conventional chair to limit the swingingmovement of the free end of said member away from the upper portion ofsaid back to a position with said member substantially horizontallydisposed and spaced above said seat, said mounting member comprising ahousing including a downwardly opening portion removably telescopeddownwardly over the upper end of said upright back.

3. A high chair attachment for use in connection with a conventionalchair of the type including a seat and an upright back, a high chairseat and regular chair backforming member, means carried by one edgeportion of said member adapting said member to be pivotally secured tosaid back above said seat for rotation about a generally horizontal axisextending along said edge portion and across said seat a spaced distanceabove the latter, a high chair back-forming panel pivotally securedalong one edge portion thereof to said member for rotation about an axisgenerally paralleling and spaced laterally from the first-mentioned axistoward the free edge of said member and with said back panel disposedabove said member when the latter is generally horizontally disposed,means operatively connected between said panel and said member limitingpivotal movement of the free edges thereof away from each other torelative positions with said panel and memberdisposed generally normalto each member is pivotally secured, said mounting member defining ashallow housing open at its forward end, said member, with said panelthereon, being swingable from said horizontal position to an uprightposition forming a closure for the forward end of said housing and withsaid panel disposed in said housing, said housing also including a rearportion which opens downwardly, said housing being adapted to beremovably telescoped downwardly over the upper end of said upright backwith the latter disposed in said rear portion.

4. A high chair attachment for use in connection with a conventionalchair of the type including a seat and an upright back, a high chairseat and regular chair backforming member, means carried by one edgeportion of said member adapting said member to be pivotally secured tosaid back above said seat for rotation about a generally horizontal axisextending along said edge portion and across said seat a spaced distanceabove the latter, a high chair back-forming panel pivotally securedalong one edge portion thereof to said member for rotation about an axisgenerally paralleling and spaced laterally from the first-mentioned axistoward the free edge of said member and with said back panel disposedabove said member when the latter is generally horizontally disposed,means operatively connected between said panel and said member limitingpivotal movement of the free edges thereof away from each other torelative positions with said panel and member disposed generally normalto each other, and means connected to said member and adapted to beengaged with said conventional chair to limit the swinging movement ofthe free end of said member away from the upper portion of said back toa position with said member substantially horizontally disposed andspaced above said seat, said means adapted to pivotally secure said oneedge portion of said member to said upright comprising a mounting memberadapted to be secured to said upright back and to which said one edgeportion of said member is pivotally secured, and said mounting membercomprises a housing including a downwardly opening portion adapted to beremovably telescoped downwardly over the upper end of said upright back.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,034,678 8/1912Berger 297238 1,216,287 2/1917 Corbin 297256 1,260,972 3/ 1918 Faiella297238 1,347,127 7/1920 Singleterry 297112 1,817,708 8/1931 Pintow297-112 2,174,627 10/ 1939 Fraune 297238 2,825,391 3/1958 Underhill297380 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A CONVENTIONAL CHAIR OF THE TYPE INCLUDING A SEATAND AN UPRIGHT BACK, A HIGHT CHAIR ATTACHMENT COMPRISING A HIGH CHAIRSEAT AND REGULAR CHAIR BACK-FORMING MEMBER, MEANS PIVOTALLY SECURING ONEEDGE PORTION OF SAID MEMBER TO SAID BACK FOR ROTATION ABOUT A GENERALLYHORIZONTAL AXIS EXTENDING ALONG SAID EDGE PORTION AND ACROSS SAID SEAT ASPACED DISTANCE ABOVE THE LATTER, A HIGH CHAIR BACK-FORMING PANELPIVOTALLY SECURED ALONG ONE EDGE PORTION THEREOF TO SAID MEMBER FORROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS GENERALLY PARALLELING AND SPACED LATERALLY FROMTHE FIRST-MENTIONED AXIS TOWARD THE FREE EDGE OF SAID MEMBER AND WITHSAID BACK PANEL DISPOSED ABOVE SAID MEMBER WHEN THE LATTER IS GENERALLYHORIZONTALLY DISPOSED, MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID PANELAND SAID MEMBER LIMITING PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE FREE EDGES THEREOF AWAYFROM EACH OTHER TO RELATIVE POSITIONS WITH SAID PANEL AND MEMBERDISPOSED GENERALLY NORMAL TO EACH OTHER, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAIDMEMBER AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID CONVENTIONAL CHAIR TO LIMIT THE SWINGINGMOVEMENT OF THE FREE END OF SAID MEMBER AWAY FROM THE UPPER PORTION OFSAID BACK TO A POSITION WITH SAID MEMBER SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLYDISPOSED AND SPACED ABOVE SAID SEAT, SAID MEANS PIVOTALLY SECURING SAIDONE EDGE PORTION OF SAID MEMBER TO SAID UPRIGHT BACK COMPRISING AMOUNTING MEMBER SECURED TO SAID UPRIGHT BACK AND TO WHICH SAID ONE EDGEPORTION OF SAID MEMBER IS PIVOTALLY SECURED, SAID MOUNTING MEMBERDEFINING A SHALLOW HOUSING OPEN AT ITS FORWARD END, SAID CHAIRBACKFORMING MEMBER, WITH SAID PANEL THEREON, BEING SWINGABLE FROM SAIDHORIZONTAL POSITION TO AN UPRIGHT POSITION FORMING A CLOSURE FOR THEFORWARD END OF SAID HOUSING AND WITH SAID PANEL DISPOSED IN SAIDHOUSING, SAID HOUSING ALSO INCLUDING A REAR PORTION WHICH OPENSDOWNWARDLY, SAID HOUSING BEING REMOVABLY TELESCOPED DOWNWARDLY OVER THEUPPER END OF SAID UPRIGHT BACK WITH THE LATTER DISPOSED IN SAID REARPORTION.